Southampton had the most shots on the night - 23 attempts - and possession (53%), and were deserved winners in the end.
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Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Lucas Moura gave an honest assessment of his side’s disappointing 3-2 loss against Southampton in the Premier League on Wednesday. The Saints had the most shots on the night – 23 attempts – and possession (53%), and were deserved winners in the end. But Spurs will be disappointed for twice letting a lead slip away. The home side took the lead in the 18th minute, courtesy of an own goal by Jan Bednarek before Southampton equalised through Armando Broja. The visitors appeared to be heading into defeat after Son Heung-Min restored the lead in the 70th minute. But the Saints fought back as Mohamed Elyounoussi and Che Adams headed home from James Ward-Prowse’s cross to silence the home crowd.
It was manager Antonio Conte’s first home loss in the Premier League since arriving in November and only his second defeat on home soil in 11 in all competitions. “No-one expected this,” said Lucas, as per their club’s website. “It was a good opportunity for us, two games at home (Wolves to follow on Sunday), and when you have two games at home, you need to think about six points.”
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Lucas Moura added: “It wasn’t our best game. We didn’t play well. We were too passive, too much space for them and they played really well, we need to say this as well. Even so, we scored two goals to be a goal up twice in the game, but that’s the Premier League, you cannot sleep for one second. They scored two goals in four minutes, that can’t happen. We need to learn. It’s a bad day for us, but let’s start to think about Sunday.
“I thought we worked well, even if it wasn’t our best day technically and tactically, we worked and scored two goals. We need to know how to hold that result and we didn’t. It’s a day to learn, a game to learn. Also, I need to say we had two or three chances to kill the game, that was our biggest mistake today. Let’s think about Sunday now. We need to show a reaction, quickly. Sunday, no time to cry, let’s do it, let’s start tomorrow.”
Antonio Conte was understandably disappointed with the result, as he emphasised on the mistakes the team made in possession during the first half on Wednesday night. Conte said: “There is big disappointment, a tough game, this league is very difficult, and we have to know that we are a team that to win a game, we have to give 120 per cent every time.”
“Today, the effort of the players was maximum. In the first half we struggled a bit because we made too many mistakes in possession. I think sometimes when you make mistakes in possession, this can create a bit of mental instability.
“In the second half we started to play, we played a good second half. For sure, when you score and there are 15, 20 minutes to go, you need to pay a bit more attention. Don’t forget we won a game at Leicester in this way. Now, we’ve lost a game against Southampton in the same way.”
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